Out of the Shadows: More Books

By continuing to browse this web site you are certifying your agreement to its terms of use; please read them if you have not done so already.

The books on this page include books recommended by other readers with BDSM subjects and books I've read and enjoyed that are not necessarily directly about BDSM. There is also a section of books that definitely are about BDSM but about which I have not yet written the intended reviews: be patient and I'll put up reviews as soon as I can. In the meantime, at least the books are available.

Tusk: Incredible descent into forced (fantasy) sex paid for by
Tess's husband. She is imprisoned and tormented unmercifully for the
pleasure of her captors. Tess certainly enjoys her captivity. Very
intense.

Other books by N.T. Morley with Tusk's comments:
The Circle.
Gina is a working girl who gets picked up by a mysterious
woman who captivates her with whips and chains. Gina of course finds she
loves this new form of intense activity. There is intrigue and a plot
twist at the end which makes it all the more fun.
The Office. Suzette gets a job at a fetish catalogue company - need I
say more? great fun. She gets into lots of trouble.
The Contract. Complicated slave training, with a twist. some great
scenes and even some character development. Done with an occasional
sense of humor.
The Limosine. I liked this one a lot, even if it wasn't very intense. A
story of two roommates learning about each other and Ds. Mostly Ds, not
very SM.

jannie: Silken Chains took me less time to read than Sentenced to Servitude.
And it's more consensual. (NB: Not the same book as one by Cate Brandt with the same title.) Tusk (aka Beowulf) has now read this book and he gives it a thumbs down: "A little too boring for my tastes. Victorian Captivity
and coming of age. Ds and a little sm."

Tusk (aka Beowulf): In the Cut is a murder mystery with some D/s in it.... Takes place
in NYC by a woman author who grew up in Hawaii. Very original. Some sexy
scenes, but not erotica. It's is one of my favorite little mysteries... its just
over too soon.

Hot books recently purchased by other readers

Other books I've read recently and liked

These are books I've read recently that don't really fit in elsewhere but that I got so much out of that I can't resist recommending them! I'm not going to claim these books relate in any obvious way to BDSM, but those who find BDSM interesting in ways that I do may also find that they have similar literary and science tastes to mine. Everything I put here is highly recommended and fascinating, even if the BDSM connections you draw from it are up to you.

Is a stylized 10,000-year-old figurine of a woman whose hands are clearly comfortably tied together with fur cuffs a depiction of SM or of a captive? Is it possible that the Amazons (for whom the Brazilian territory was later named), a class of warrior females reportedly centered in the steppes of Russia, may not have been made up by Herodotus as has been previously thought, and their very "maleness" may have made their graves and bones misidentified as male to date?

Did you know that the supposedly endemic matriarchal society on which some modern paganism (for example, the concept of a Goddess preceding the concept of a "male" God) is based is premised on frighteningly scanty evidence (primarily one small, ambiguous sculpture and some house interiors you are going to laugh at when you realize the feminist stretches they have been used to defend even if you are devoutly feminist) with other credible interpretations? Did you know that art depictions of obviously Tantric yoga (yogaic positions and theory fostering reverie that uses sexual feelings along with references to one-ness with animals) go back at least as far as 2000 B.C., and may have been the source of horned depictions of the (sexually enticing) devil in Christianity?

Do you know that the properly-prepared seeds of the weed Queen Anne's Lace, which I have always understood was brought to the U.S. on the Mayflower, demonstrably can (and was widely historically known to) induce early miscarriage (implying that it may have been brought not for the carrot-like root as backup food, but for available birth control or possible response to rape by natives)? Interested in the clever token-price system for prostitutes during the Roman expansion, and why rear-entry cost more than fellatio?

The number of things I've learned from this book, which is credibly researched, argued, and supported beyond my casual suggestions here, is amazing to me. The author has a fascinating theme and carries it through in chapter after chapter. I have to caution that the author's PC liberal and occasionally Marxist politics show through a bit too often for my tastes. The author is so clearly smitten by these concepts that his notions of pre-farming (and hence, pre-land-owning) humans being also laudably pro-environmental, non-violent, and potentially pansexually egalitarian makes it hard for an objective reader to believe given his biases.

But, to his credit, Taylor is absolutely right that No One Knows about most things sexual beyond the limited archeological evidence in hand, and almost none of that evidence has been DNA-checked or subjected to open-minded scrutiny in the thousands of cases archeologists have often taken for granted to date. Consequently, his occasionally beyond-common-sense suggestions in fact have been enjoyable and eye-opening intellectual exercises for me in just how little the existing evidence actually tells us. And his taking some strong stances that are not in accord with standard PC feminism furthers my willingness to listen to his wide-ranging suggestions.

This is a really neat book, light reading with excellent drawings and photos.

This is a terrific book about the biology and evolution of sexual behavior and mating. How did it ever happen that so many species evolved to have two genders when reproduction by division or one gender has a dominating advantage numerically? And for that matter, why only two genders? Do parasites and viruses hold keys to the development and balance of life; and if we eliminated all the parasites would we be better off as a species? Is the remarkable size and power of the human brain an example of sexual gaudiness that evolved much like the peacock's tail? If you think you understood arguments like how women's relative carefulness in selecting mates compared to men is because they have to bear the children, or believe that disease and sex are related only when the diseases are STDs, then this book will open your eyes with yet a deeper level of questions and a suggested underlying answer to a whole series of riddles you never thought were related. The opening few chapters of this book systematically shredded every casual way I had thought about such matters before; and though the middle few chapters suddenly got dull enough to make me consider not finishing, when the author eventually returned to such matters as human brains and mating toward the end, the book again became exciting and highly satisfying.

Oh, and if you have never read The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins, you probably should start with that. Not only is this slender book a classic in this kind of literature, but it is a highly readable, clear explanation of how to think about genes, which behave as if they choose to propagate even though, of course, they have no brains.

This winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction is a riveting report about a lawyer's crusade on behalf of a cluster of children's cancer deaths in Woburn, Massachusetts. A terrific book, impossible to put down. Are the deaths a result of toxic chemical pollution? If so, is it delivered through the air or by the water or by some other means? Is there a coverup by the companies or the town leaders? Is the judge in the case biased or even in cahoots with the chemical companies? Is the risk-taking lawyer a motivated martyr or a convincing talker who lives in the fast lane? Are there really enough cancer victims in the area to make a convincing case? What would constitute convincing evidence of any of this? Although I ended up not entirely convinced about the author's conclusions, I was moved by the possibilities and impressed with his research. I came away curious to learn more about this case and others like it.

Travelogue with a point of view describing V. S. Naipaul's travels in Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. (V.S. Naipaul has just published a follow-up after revisiting these countries in his newly-released book:
Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples.) Each country's way of expressing and integrating the desire to be part of a modern world with the revival of Muslim traditionalism leads the author into ever-deepening concerns about the compatibility of the ideas and the
self-deceptions of some of the methods being tried. A provoking, illuminating, but very depressing book. The highlights for me were the many people with whom the author interacted, most of whom are memorably drawn. Most astonishing of all, though, is that this book is peculiarly reminiscent of his brother Shiva Naipaul's previously published book,
North of South: An African Journey. Shiva's book details his similarly depressing travels through three countries in Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia), also with vivid descriptions of interesting individuals and also with an attempt to draw a conclusion about these nations' failing and apparently doomed attempts to bring the modern world to their citizenry. The parallels between the two books are rather eerie. V. S.'s book is unquestionably more erudite, better-written, and complex; but Shiva gets the credit for courageously creating the format.

This is the best-written novel I've read in ages. Intricate, beautifully interwoven plot about a family whose lives are inexorably ground down by ties to organized crime in Philadelphia. Painfully emotive, and impossible to put down. When it was over I reread the beginning with a whole new perspective. This is the kind of book you can read more than once. The characters are people you care about, and the symbols and interweavings of fate and intention are drawn with a sure, light-handed approach that leaves it to the reader to enjoy analyzing. I highly recommend this book, which extends recent literary allusions a caring, educated manner.

Psychology, Feminism, Unreviewed books

Reviews of these books are in progress, but feel free to help yourself in the interim. Most of the books listed here are research works in the psychology of pathological sadomasochism. (Note that according to the
DSM-IV, BDSM is not automatically classified as indicating psychological problems. That there is a pathological expression of sadomasochism, though, is obvious and behooves no one to ignore.) Some books listed below are discussions in recent feminist debates concerning issues about BDSM and abuse of women. A few are books I just have not had a chance to write reviews of yet.

Anyone reading this page probably has the smarts to put anything here in perspective and read these materials with an eye toward understanding that semantics, content, and communication all have a long way to go. I recommend that you do not shy away from controversy. If you have read any of these books and want to contribute, please email me at nflauren@submission.net or fill in the
Form. I do promise that I will report with equal concern both positive and negative reviews. I hope that reviews and readings of these books do in fact enhance dialog and communication.